MovieChat Forums > Mientras duermes (2011) Discussion > *Spoilers* Horror?

Spoilers Horror?

posted 9 years ago by ze_goose
9 replies | jump to latest

*Spoilers*

I thought the movie was alright, but in terms of its' horror content, it was fairly flat IMO. My two points of contention are:

1. César did not entirely want to cause physical injury or death, despite multiple opportunities being presented to him on a platter. The scene where he kills a guy almost seemed like self-defense on his part, he did not even seem to revel in the blood bath (no pun intended 😝). It may also be noted that after he gets blackmailed with the note, he just rattles the little girl and lets her off relatively easy.

2. There was never a palpable sense of terror or dread, some scenes felt mildly creepy in a 'dirty' sort of way, but that was about it; they even did us the favor of leaving out all the really nasty bits, in said scenes. There wasn't any remarkably disturbing 'evil' imagery/music in the film either.

In conclusion, I cannot find a strong case to label 'Sleep Tight' a 'horror' movie.

So, why do you think this is classified as a 'horror' film? Is 'horror' subjective, or is there some standard by which we could make a comparison?

[–] seth-shaw23 9 years ago

I was expecting a horror movie going in but this ended up not being one. It's a very good thriller movie and I enjoyed it but there aren't really any horror elements. There was the one bloody scene and once you realize what he's done it's certainly unsettling. There's nothing scary... supernatural... he's not a murderer... he's just a super creepy guy. He tries to make people feel bad psychologically but I don't think that constitutes a horror movie.

[–] NoseofNicko 9 years ago

It's called psychological horror.

CG GORE IS THE WORST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO THE HORROR GENRE!

[–] Zerose 9 years ago

2. There was never a palpable sense of terror or dread, some scenes felt mildly creepy in a 'dirty' sort of way, but that was about it; they even did us the favor of leaving out all the really nasty bits, in said scenes. There wasn't any remarkably disturbing 'evil' imagery/music in the film either.

Well, it got a female friend taking legs off her bed almost straight after we watched the film.

[–] tempmail1974 8 years ago

Actually, I think this was pretty much text-book horror with a single alteration; You follow and identify with the crazed antagonist rather than the victimized protagonist.

Cesar DID decide to cause injury and death ... he was waiting under Clara's bed to kill her with his knife, rope, and duct tape. His plan was ruined when she came home with her boyfriend and their sex spilled his ether/chloroform/whatever onto his own face.

Serial rape and stalking is still considered "horror" to most people, I would think. Perhaps you simply had trouble identifying with Clara on any level? Maybe the perception change altered your experience of events so much that the horror looked normal and/or just "tense"?

If so, and you stop to think about it ... that's really horrifying!

[–] ze_goose 7 years ago

*Spoilers*

Actually, I think this was pretty much text-book horror with a single alteration; You follow and identify with the crazed antagonist rather than the victimized protagonist.
.............
Serial rape and stalking is still considered "horror" to most people, I would think.

Ok, fair enough. I have seen other horror movies where we follow the lead character who is the crazy/bad guy, and those films still come across as 'horror'; this one, not so much. It may be that I have become 'desensitized', so that subtler shades of horror are not as 'striking'/evident.

That being said, of the five replies this thread has (as of today):
A) 2 replies say it is horror,
B) 1 reply is neutral (leaning towards it being horror), and
C) 2 replies say it is not horror

So there is a consensus as to this being 'horror', but there is a sizeable fraction saying that it is not.

Cesar DID decide to cause injury and death ... he was waiting under Clara's bed to kill her with his knife, rope, and duct tape.

Now this, I do not agree with. As you said, he also brought chloroform, so we cannot definitively say he brought the knife with the intent to kill her, especially considering every previous opportunity that he had to do so. Also, consider the ending of the movie; his intent was to harass and mentally torture her...not to kill her, otherwise she would not have lived at the end of the movie.

[–] tempmail1974 7 years ago

I agree, it's very personal in interpretation and effect.

I think that is where the identification comes in, the harder it is to identify with the people (or take them seriously/find the situation plausible), the less "horrifying" the story.

I can even see the idea that what is "horror" for some is not for others, especially depending on our guesses at character motivations.

[–] ScorseseStan 8 years ago

I agree

It was a decent watch but I wouldn't categorise it as horror, I didn't feel any dread once

[–] bixlar 7 years ago

I agree too. For me it's a Psychological Thriller. It built tension, not dread; much in the same way as, say, Rear Window or Match Point did - neither of which I'd consider Horror. Good movie, though.

Kinda hot in these rhinos

[–] heyteegs (1207) 3 years ago

What do we call something that’s creepy? I wouldn’t call this horror or even psychological horror but it was downright creepy!